What’s Hydrogen Water?

What’s Hydrogen Water?

Are you one of those people who can’t keep up with the daily trends? Or are you the type that keeps up with everything on social media with all the different tricks and trends, and if you are, then lucky you! You must have already tried out the infamous hydrogen water and probably packed up your refrigerators with them. And for those of you who haven’t and are still wondering what the difference between plain water and hydrogen water is or boggled by the idea that there now two different types of waters you might need to purchase on your next visit to the store. Worry not! I have got you covered. Everything you might need to know about this water is here. So, let’s take a look.

What’s Hydrogen Water?

It is your typical ordinary water, which is pure H2O (two hydrogen atoms covalently bonded to one oxygen atom making up the water molecules) that contains dissolved hydrogen gas (H2 molecules). For instance, it’s similar to the carbonated drinks, beverages, and water. The carbonated liquids are those that contain Carbon dioxide gas. Therefore, these liquids are identical but they only differ in the composition and the type of compounds used to manufacture them.

How to Make Hydrogen Water? And What are Hydrogen Water Machines Used For?

The question you might have in your head is how to make it? Hydrogen water is rich in hydrogen, due to the extra added hydrogen molecules by the process of electrolysis. There are hydrogen water machines/generators that can be purchased in any local store. These machines purify water by infusing additional hydrogens, and it does so by breaking-up (decomposing) the water molecules into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen molecules (O), which releases large amounts of gaseous molecules into the water which is typically kept under pressure, generally 7.0 mg per liter of water. Unlike chlorine, ozone, or hydrogen peroxide water treatment, which is used to purify water, this water has hydrogen infused in it, which requires little to none of these water treatment methods.

Does Hydrogen Water Have Any Benefits?

So far, there hasn’t been much research done on the water and its effects on the body. However, studies conducted in test tubes and trials on animals have shown positive results, which does prove that there are some hydrogen water benefits.

Although the little study that has been done indicates that there are only certain benefits in drinking hydrogen water such as it functions as an excellent anti-oxidant and helps reduce inflammation, it does so by fighting against free radicals that are highly unstable and reactive, and these radicals can cause oxidative stress, certain diseases, and inflammation. Therefore, to bring down the inflammation in the body, the hydrogen molecules stabilize these radicals by reacting with them.

It also reduces the risk of metabolic syndrome, which are categories as high blood sugar levels, high cholesterol levels, and levels of Triacylglycerols (TAC). This is related to inflammation, and this is because the water has excellent anti-inflammatory properties due to which it can reduce the oxidative stress in the body, in turn, helps improve the metabolic activity in the body. It also significantly reduces the levels of specific lipoproteins, which are composed of triacylglycerols and esterified cholesterol, these lipoproteins are characterized based on their density and protein-to-fat ratio. The higher the protein-to-fat ratio results in the formation of the least dense lipoprotein and vice versa. Therefore, hydrogen water helps alleviate HDL (high-density lipoprotein) molecules which are the least dense cholesterol molecules as they have a higher protein-to-fat ratio, at the same they reduce the levels of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) molecules, comparatively they have a higher density, due to the low protein-to-fat ratio.

For instances, there was a study done on 20 patients, and these subjects were suspected of having conditions of metabolic syndrome, before the study they were to consume only hydrogen water for 10 weeks, at the end of the experiment, the results obtained indicated that there was a considerable decrease in the total amount of LDL (unhealthy cholesterol) and an increase in the total amount of HDL (healthy cholesterol) in the body. However, when another experiment was conducted on similar grounds, the results were not the same. In this experiment, 26 healthy individuals were used and were instructed to consume hydrogen water for four weeks. In the end, when the same group was compared to the placebo group, there was no change in the markers of oxidative stress.

Additionally, they can improve individual athletic abilities as it can slow down the formation of lactate in the muscles, allowing athletes to improve in their performance and continue it for a more extended period of time. It is also said that it assists in providing the necessary neuroprotection against various diseases and substantially decrease side effects, which are associated with cancer radiation treatments.

Therefore, not much can be said about the effect of consuming hydrogen water, as it’s not harmful to the body, but the benefits of drinking it, is still not validated. There is still so much room for research for us to conclude the complete potential of the water. However, the concept of hydrogen water may seem a bit weird, but as long as there is no harm in getting a few more hydrogen molecules in the body, then I guess why not give it a go?! You might probably even like it!